Restaurant Review: Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Binghamton, New York

When you think about budget friendly, typically you think of fast food places because they are so cheap and usually easy to get in and out of when you're in a hurry. That doesn't have to be the case if you're in or near Binghamton, New York. I live outside of Binghamton, but tend to spend a bit of time there, since I live in a small town where the best places to eat are typically fast food. When I go into Binghamton, I always try to find somewhere budget friendly, but not your typical fast-food joint.

That's why I decided to give Five Guys Burgers and Fries a try. As the name says, Five Guys is a burger joint, but nothing like you would expect from a franchise burger joint. First off, when you walk into Five Guys, you see the product that they use. There are boxes of potatoes for their hand cut fries, there are bottles of peanut oil that they use for the fries. Once you get to the counter and see the menu, you know that you're not at an ordinary burger place. They have a small menu with 4 types of burgers in 2 sizes.

One thing of note is that their 'regular' burgers are a double patty, what they call 'little' are single patty. They also offer hot dogs and two types of sandwiches. They sell hand cut fries as well, in two sizes. Regular or large. The large, however, feeds 4 people, the regular feeds 2. The most unique part is that everything is made to order because there are absolutely no standard toppings for anything.

They give a new meaning to having it your way by allowing you to have any kind of combination of toppings that you want. If you want onions and mushrooms and nothing else on a bacon cheeseburger, that's what you get. You want everything on it, order it and get it. The other cool thing about Five Guys is that they serve bulk peanuts, for free, with your meal if you want them. They are a approximately the same cost of a fast food trip, but the food is much better and worth it, even if you have to wait a few minutes while things are cooked to order.

They are a zero trans fat, gluten free (other than the rolls), restaurant that doesn't use any frozen product and even tells you what town their potatoes are from. If you have a Five Guys in your area, check it out. A word of advice, however, don't wear a white shirt or a shirt you want to keep clean because it's nearly impossible because the burgers are just that juicy and fresh. The local Five Guys is located in University Plaza, 4700 Vestal Pkwy East, Vestal, NY 13850. If you want to call your order in, call: 607-770-7005.